Deconstructing disengagement: analyzing learner subpopulations in massive open online courses
| Published | April 2013 |
| Conference | LAK '13: Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge Pages 170-179 |
| Country | United States, North America |
ABSTRACT
As MOOCs grow in popularity, the relatively low completion rates of learners has been a central criticism. This focus on completion rates, however, reflects a monolithic view of disengagement that does not allow MOOC designers to target interventions or develop adaptive course features for particular subpopulations of learners. To address this, we present a simple, scalable, and informative classification method that identifies a small number of longitudinal engagement trajectories in MOOCs. Learners are classified based on their patterns of interaction with video lectures and assessments, the primary features of most MOOCs to date.In an analysis of three computer science MOOCs, the classifier consistently identifies four prototypical trajectories of engagement. The most notable of these is the learners who stay engaged through the course without taking assessments. These trajectories are also a useful framework for the comparison of learner engagement between different course structures or instructional approaches. We compare learners in each trajectory and course across demographics, forum participation, video access, and reports of overall experience. These results inform a discussion of future interventions, research, and design directions for MOOCs. Potential improvements to the classification mechanism are also discussed, including the introduction of more fine-grained analytics.
| Keywords | MOOC · learner engagement · trajectories of engagement |
| Published at | California |
| Language | English |
| Refereed | Yes |
| DOI | 10.1145/2460296.2460330 |
| Export options | BibTex · EndNote · Tagged XML · Google Scholar |
Viewed by 588 distinct readers
CLOUD COMMUNITY REVIEWS
The evaluations below represent the judgements of our readers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Cloud editors.
Click a star to be the first to rate this document
▶ POST A COMMENT
SIMILAR RECORDS
Digging deeper into learners' experiences in MOOCs: Participation in social networks outside of MOOCs, notetaking and contexts surrounding content consumption
Veletsianos, George; Collier, Amy; Schneider, Emily
Researchers describe with increasing confidence what they observe participants doing in massive open online courses (MOOCs). However, our understanding of learner activities in open courses is limited by researchers' ...
Match: Schneider, Emily
MOOCs for professional teacher development
Jobe, William; Östlund, Christian; Svensson, Lars
A MOOC is a trending concept in education that is disrupting traditional methods of
learning consumption. The emergence and use of MOOCs for professional teacher development is still uncommon, but on the verge of ...
Match: MOOC; United States
Open, online, flexible, technology-enhanced… and sustainable? Understanding new business models for distance and blended learning
Farrow, Robert; Orr, Dominic; Weller, Martin; Ubachs, George; Konings, Lizzie
Do open, online, flexible and technology-enhanced (OOFAT) approaches to education result in sustainable and innovative business models? This is the focus of the OOFAT Models project funded by ICDE and conducted by ...
Match: MOOC
Massive Open Online Courses for development (MOOC4D)
Balaji, Venkataraman
Presented by Dr. Ventakaraman Balaji, Director - Technology and Knowledge Management, Commonwealth of Learning, at a Faculty Workshop on a MOOC on Life Skills for Engineers, Kanpur, India, 27 November ...
Match: MOOC
Coursera’s introductory human physiology course: Factors that characterize successful completion of a MOOC
Engle, Deborah; Mankoff, Chris; Carbrey, Jennifer
Since Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are accessible by anyone in the world at no cost, they have large enrollments that are conducive to educational research. This study examines students in the Coursera MOOC, ...
Match: MOOC
Presentation to UNCTAD's advisory group on "Developing skills, knowledge and capacities through innovation: E-Learning, M-Learning, cloud-Learning"
Downes, Stephen
Match: MOOC
Mathematics courses: Fostering individuality through EMOOCs
Martschink, Bastian; Ullmo, Pierre-Antoine; Koskinen, Tapio
When it comes to university-level mathematics in engineering education, it is getting harder and harder to bridge the gap between the requirements of the curriculum and the actual mathematic skills of first-year ...
Match: MOOC
Development of OERs through international collaboration E-QUAL case study
Gupta, Parul
Development of Open Education Resources (OER) is similar to product development and it requires due attention to get the final product. Generally, the focus is laid on the final product and not on the process. However, ...
Match: MOOC
Practical skills in AutoCAD through a mass open online course
Kaygorodtseva, Natalia; Luzgina, Valeriia; Cocchiarella, Luigi
Mass open online courses (MOOC) are popular recently. Their advantages are obvious: training at any time, from anywhere in the world, from the best teachers, with the help of quality content. But is it possible to learn ...
Match: MOOC
Open Education: Introduction to selected papers
Gil-Jaurena, Inés
This issue of Open Praxis compiles selected papers presented at the Open Education Consortium Global Conference, held in Cape Town (South Africa) on March 8-10, 2017. Additionaly, the Innovative Practice section ...
Match: MOOC









